Exploding Insect

"Roar..."

The brute let out a furious roar, dark green blood spilling straight from his mouth. He even spat out his own rotting tongue. The nauseating stench of decaying flesh and his sore-riddled body made for a horrifying sight.

Bang!

With a vicious swing of the iron chain in his hand, the sharpened wooden stakes at the entrance to the Residential Camp shattered instantly. Splinters flew out and slammed into the wall, burying themselves halfway into it.

Such tremendous strength was almost beyond an ordinary person's imagination.

Although the brute was powerful, everyone quickly recovered from their initial shock. They raised their weapons and joined the fight. After all, with their lives hanging by a thread, they could not afford the slightest carelessness.

Meanwhile, Liu Feng mentally commanded the Parasitic Insects to join the battle.

Nearly 100,000 Iron-toothed Insects filled the sky. With people's firearms providing additional cover, the Parasitic Insects advanced rapidly.

But despite his enormous size, the brute's reflexes were far from slow. Just as the Parasitic Insects were about to reach him, he abruptly lowered his head and spotted them all.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The brute kept leaping about, wildly swinging the heavy iron chains around his feet. The Parasitic Insects swarming toward him were like ants beneath his feet. He crushed their heads with ease, leaving pale white pus smeared across the ground.

Although the brute had discovered the Parasitic Insects, Liu Feng could fortunately summon a staggering 100,000 of them after reaching LV2. So even with the brute's overwhelming strength, he ultimately could not withstand Liu Feng's insect swarm tactics.

"Argh..."

After the brute struggled desperately for ten minutes, a wail finally escaped his mouth.

Liu Feng heard it clearly. The Parasitic Insects must have successfully invaded his body.

Generally speaking, zombies could not feel pain. This brute was no exception; he had no perception of pain whatsoever. Yet now he had let out a human cry, which meant the Parasitic Insects must have occupied his throat and vocal tract.

Now that the Parasitic Insects had entered the brute's body, draining all his nutrients was only a matter of time.

The hail of gunfire had stopped because Liu Feng feared stray bullets might hit the Parasitic Insects.

Everyone stood on the platform, staring at the brute outside the Residential Camp with deeply furrowed brows.

Finally, two minutes after the Parasitic Insects invaded his body, he dissolved into a puddle of dark green blood that reeked of rotten flesh, spreading across the slime-covered ground.

At that moment, the system's voice sounded in Liu Feng's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations on successfully killing a "Mutant Zombie" (strength type). You have gained 1,000 experience points.]

[Host's current level: LV2 (6500/5000). Level-up available. Would you like to level up?]

Liu Feng had never expected killing this brute to reward him with a full 1,000 experience points.

Killing an ordinary zombie yielded no more than 10 experience points.

Getting so much experience at once, enough to level up again immediately, felt absolutely fantastic.

Still, however good it felt, Liu Feng did not want another brute to show up. This thing was ridiculously powerful; even firearms could not seriously wound him. Moreover, Liu Feng's Parasitic Insects had suffered devastating losses killing this mutant brute, and they really needed time to recover.

With that thought, Liu Feng turned his attention to the system.

"Level up!"

[Level-up successful! Host's level: LV3 (1500/10000)]

[New insect swarm unlocked: Exploding Insect. Carries a small bomb and deals instantaneous damage through self-detonation. The Exploding Insect dies after the explosion.]

As the system notification sounded, Liu Feng furrowed his brows in puzzlement.

This level-up had unlocked a new insect swarm—the Exploding Insects.

This swarm actually dealt damage by blowing itself up, and its insects could not be retrieved.

The description inevitably reminded Liu Feng of a verse: "The wind sighs mournfully, the Yi River runs cold; the warrior departs, never to return."

Liu Feng nodded in satisfaction and summoned an Exploding Insect onto his finger.

The Exploding Insect was not particularly large, only about the size of a thumb. It had the same translucent wings as an Iron-toothed Insect, and its entire body was transparent. In the night, now gradually giving way to the first light of dawn, its tail flashed with a pale yellow glow.

Liu Feng studied it carefully. The spot emitting that pale yellow light was probably where the explosion was triggered.

As it happened, a few zombies were still wandering along the street outside the Residential Camp entrance. A knowing smile spread across Liu Feng's face as he sent the Exploding Insect speeding toward one of them.

Boom!

After a deafening explosion, the unfortunate zombie was blasted into minced flesh by the Exploding Insect.

Its terrifying power left Liu Feng's jaw practically hanging open.

An LV2 Iron-toothed Insect needed at least half a minute to deal with an ordinary zombie. Yet this Exploding Insect, only LV1, could kill one in an instant.

Of course, the terrifying Exploding Insects also came with quite a few restrictions.

First, they could not be retrieved. Once summoned, they had to explode. Second, summoning them took a relatively long time—about two minutes per Exploding Insect. Third, their numbers were limited; he could summon no more than 100 at a time.

Still, these were only LV1 Exploding Insects. Liu Feng believed that once he upgraded them to LV10, the scale would be unimaginable.

While Liu Feng was lost in his thoughts, Han Bing suddenly walked over. Seeing the goofy grin on Liu Feng's face, he was thoroughly puzzled.

"Feng, what's gotten into you?"

Hearing Han Bing, Liu Feng quickly came back to his senses. He gave an awkward little cough to compose himself.

"N-nothing."

Liu Feng suddenly turned his gaze toward the people standing on the platform. After a whole night of fighting, everyone looked utterly exhausted.

"Han Bing, it'll be light soon, and the zombies are gradually retreating. Find a few energetic young men to stand guard. Everyone else can find a sheltered corner and get a little sleep. Once it's fully light, we'll go out and clear the bodies from the streets."

Han Bing nodded at first, then lowered his voice and whispered into Liu Feng's ear, "Feng, about the fire someone set tonight..."

Before Han Bing could finish, Liu Feng cut him off with a wave. Turning away, he looked at the car that had been crushed flat at the Residential Camp entrance and said evenly, "Tell everyone that someone else set the fire. Without evidence, no one should make baseless accusations."

(End of chapter)